Swim ‘Till You Drown
by parlouslymad
Summary: AU; Whenever your world starts crashing down, that's when you'll find me. Shiley. Rated T.


**first full length shileeyy(:**

**This chaptarr's pretty uneventful and boringgg. But it'll get better, I promise. Also, if you didn't know, the story is actually named after one of my favorite **one republic** songs: all fall down. It's so effing awesome, you better hear it :)**

**Enjoooyy.**

Swim 'Till You Drown

**-x-**

_Soundtrack__:_

_Walk this Way, Aerosmith_

-

**October 31, Friday **

**12:42 pm **

Bright florescent lights filled his vision, causing him to squint slightly in pain. A headache began forming instantly, making its way from the back of his head over to the front of his face; _pounding _against his skullunbearably. Quickly, he attempted to lift his left arm, but to no avail. His arm was wrapped securely in a white cast. Ignoring the cast, he lifted his right arm, viciously rubbing his burning eyes. Blinking countless times, his gray eyes scattered across the room. There were white chairs, white curtains, white tile floors, white doors that were constantly filled with people rushing in and out. _**White, white, white**_. Taking in his surroundings, the raven haired man sighed. He was in far too much pain to even worry where he was, or how he got there. Instead, he enjoyed the low and faint sound coming for the television, lullabying him back to sleep. Wrapping himself in the white blankets, the young man sighed contentedly.

"Where is he? Has he woken up yet? Damnit, where's the doctor? I swear to God if they. . ." A panicked voice filled his ears. He knew of no one else who would have such a voice like the one he had heard. The gentle yet panicked tone could only belong to one person.

"N-Nate?" his raspy voice called out. He hadn't realized just how hoarse his voice was until he attempted to speak. It was almost like a whisper; near inaudible. Luckily, Nate saw his best friend shift slightly, and ran over.

"Shane! Shane man, you awake?" Upon hearing his name, Shane shifted forward. Nate sighed in relief. "Thank God. Dude, what were you thinking? Jase called me up and told me you landed yourself in the hospital and I had to come rushing down here -"

"Wait, wait. I'm in a hospital?" Shane interrupted; his voice still raspy and strained, but sounded a little better, above all. When Nate nodded, his eyes widen in surprise. He was in a hospital? That would explain all the white and uncomfortable bed. _I hate the fucking hospital. _He thought bitterly to himself.

"Uh, yeah," Nate raised his eyebrow. "You okay, Shane? There isn't any brain damage or anything, right? Jason told me the doctors said you'd be fine! Damn those doctors to hell, I swear, when I find them, wait a minute Shane. I'm finding one of those 'certified doctors' and giving them a piece of my mind." Shane laughed at his panicking best friend. Nate was always the one who seemed calm and collected, but when it came to hospitals, Nate would instantly freak out. He'd begin questioning every doctor's education, just how much experience they had, and in the process, use words that would make any truck driver blush. He had become this way after his mom died; they pulled the cord on her life support. Said she wouldn't make it. Nate hated every doctor ever since. Shane, unlike everyone else, always knew Nate meant well. And when he freaked out, he was only trying to look out for him; like a brother he never had.

"Nate, man, it's alright. There isn't any brain damage. _Chillax_. In fact, where's Jason? Maybe he'll be the more sensible one in all this. . ." Shane smirked, causing Nate to scowl and retort sarcastically:

"Haha, you're _still_ absolutely hysterical. Hold up," Nate left the room, retrieving Jason from the vending machine, where he was often found. Moments later, the two walked back into Shane's room, holding countless snacks.

"I come bearing food!" Jason announced, sitting on the edge of Shane's bed. Realizing just how hungry he was, Shane grabbed everything he could see, stuffing it into his mouth.

"You seem better. . ." Jason stated, staring hungrily at the food. Nate slapped him back to reality, glaring at him sternly. Jason pouted, but backed off.

"Yeah, you do look better. How did you even get in the hospital? Damn doctors won't tell me anything. What happened?" Nate asked, watching the raven haired man closely. Shane simply shrugged, seeming completely unbothered by his current location.

"Just doing my job, is all. Flawlessly, of course," His usual arrogant and dashing risqué resurfaced; pride evident on his face. "I was hiding behind this ally, waiting for some douche bag. 'Parrently, he's constantly stealing money from a local music store; who does that?_ Seriously_. Anyway, they needed someone to find out who it was, take pictures for the paper, and I volunteered. Heh. Didn't think I'd get shot in the process," He mused, smiling bitterly. Jason and Nate quickly jumped to their feet, shocked. Shane rolled his eyes at their over dramatic ness. They could be such drama queens, he swore.

"You were shot!? Dude, can I see?" Jason asked eagerly, earning a punch from Nate, who didn't seem like himself at all. No, this wasn't Nate at all. He looked like a burning man; crazy, angry, shocked, ready to kill. _His mom,_ Shane realized, remembering just how Nate's mother had passed away. His expression turned gentler, facing only his 'brother'.

"Hey, Nate man, don't worry about a thing; it's gonna be alright. I'll just be more careful. No worries." Shane reassured him. Before Nate could protest, the white doors slammed open. These new visitors opened the windows, allowing the bright sunlight to burn into the room. Shane squinted, but smiled joyously.

"Shane! You're alright!" His boss, Randy Cudolf, said happily. "We thought we lost our best photographer. Didn't we girls?" Swarms of girls crowed around Shane's bed, screaming 'We thought we'd never see that gorgeous bod again!' and 'You feeling well enough to go out tonight, babe?' Shane was given this sort of treatment everyday, already used to it; but never tired of it.

"Ladies, ladies, we stick to the schedules. Remember? Jess, you know you're only with me on Wednesday, and same goes for you Courtney. Juss' cause I'm in the hospital, doesn't mean anything has changed . . ." All their faces dropped, and they sighed. ". . . But I _could_ use some lovin' now." Every face lit up, stroking Shane lovingly, and it was evident Shane enjoyed every second of the attention.

"You never do change." Randy laughed gruffly. "That's what I like about you kid. News paper wouldn't be the same with out you. When you think you can come back?"

"He's not." Nate, who hadn't spoken since he received the new information, calmly stated, earning a glare from Shane. "Not yet, anyway. He needs to recover."

"Don't listen to him, Rands. I'll be back to work in no time. Two days tops."

"No, you need to recover Shane. You're not going back to work yet. You shouldn't even be going back at all_!_ You were just shot. What part of that aren't you getting?" Nate looked disgusted, staring in disbelief. Was his friend _that_ headstrong? Was he_ that_ stubborn? Of course he was. He was _Shane Gray_ for crying out loud.

"I'll see you at work, Randy. I need a talk to Nate so if you could. . ." Everyone quickly scattered out of the room, the women blowing kisses and calling out 'Love you' ever so often. Finally the room was quiet. All that was heard was Jason's anxious foot tapping and Nate's heavy breathing. He was furious.

"How fucking dare you tell me what to do? You don't have to keep looking out for me. I've done this all on my own so far, you can't come in here and -"

"– Yes I can. I'm your best friend, damnit. Listen to me for once, man. You're gonna end up killing yourself. Besides, do you think the doctors are gonna let you walk out of here and go straight back to work?"

"Tch. With the right amount of money, they will." Nate's blood boiled at Shane's dependence of money. He quickly calmed himself, knowing that yelling at the head strong man would get him no where. He had an idea.

"Alright then. Bribe them all you want. You're not getting your way. Besides, you really need a vacation. I know that your mother would have wanted it for you." Nate felt a pang of guilt playing the mother card on Shane, but it was the only thing he could do. "She always said you over worked yourself. That it would probably kill you one day. Heh. She was right."

If looks could kill, Nate Black would be face down in the ground, blood spilling out of his mouth and eyes falling from his eye sockets. Luckily for him, looks could do nothing, and Shane's glare had no effect on the young, curly haired man. In fact, the glare assured Nate that he had hit a nerve, which, in this case, was the best thing he could ask for.

"Damn you to the darkest depths of hell." Shane spat, but sighed defeatingly. He wasn't going to win this.

"At least I'm enjoying my ride there." Nate smiled in triumph, leaving the room to retrieve a doctor concerning Shane's discharge. Jason and Shane were left alone in silence. The room still held the tension Nate had left, and it stood this way for at least ten agonizing minutes. Jason broke the awkward silence.

"So," his eyes landed on the half eaten sandwich on Shane's bed. "Your sandwich looks _pretttyyyy_ lonely there." The comment made Shane roll his eyes, throwing the snack at Jason.

"Here, fatty."

--

**6:47 pm **

Rain slammed hard against the windshield of his silver BMW M3. Nate chuckled softly at the thought of Shane waking up to see his baby being man handled by the rain and leaves. He looked ahead at the road, watching the wild rain. Soon, his brown eyes averted to the sleeping figure next to him. His thoughts began to wonder. Shane had changed a lot since they were six. He use to be very humble, caring, always a little rough around the edges, but over all a cool guy. Someone he could call his best friend; his brother. Now, he wasn't so sure Shane even deserved that title anymore. Sure, he was caring when he wanted to be, the hospital for instance, when comforting Nate about his mother. But that was it. Shane had let being the best photographer around go to his head; being the number one heart throb, all the countless women falling at his feet; everything. Nate was proud that his 'best friend' was only nineteen and already had such a big name for himself, but was disappointed that he lost himself in the process. All he knew was that these few weeks of vacation _had_ to do him some good. Or he'd lose anyone that truly cared for him.

"_We there yettttt_?" Jason grumbled, tossing and turning in the back seat. Nate rolled his eyes at his childish antics. He and Jason had met three years after Nate befriended Shane. They all became inseparable; mostly because of their similarities. Each of their family members abounded them in a different way. Nate and Shane's mother by death, Jason's by flat out leaving him. None of them knew where their fathers were, but were okay with that. They had each others friendship, despite how different (minus their one similarity) they were. And though it seemed ludicrous, Jason is what kept Nate sane. He hated the irony of it all.

"Yeah," He pulled into the parking lot. "We're here. Help me pick up Shane, Jase. I'll grab his feet and you grab his hea-"

"I swear to fucking God, if Jason touches my hair, I'm kicking his ass to the moon." Shane slurred, stumbling out of the car sleepily. Jason looked some what offended, but helped Shane into the house anyway. When flickering the lights on, they were welcomed by, "Welcome home Shane!" and "We missed you!" It seemed like Jesus himself had walked into the room. The once tired Shane sprung out of Jason and Nate's grip, hugging and thanking all the visitors. They were mostly people from the news office, but some were from around the place they all called home; Wisconsin.

Shane beamed at the surprise party; already a girl snaked around his arm. Jason and Nate chuckled when they saw Shane reach for a beer, but was stopped by the heavy cast around his arm. Sighing, he ignored the taunting beer and began grinding with the blonde haired girl he'd probably forget by tomorrow; didn't matter to him. All he needed was a good time. And a good time, Shane Gray got.

--

The party only lasted until 1:00, when everyone was kicked out by Nate. For only seventeen, the boy was scary. Even the almighty Shane Gray feared him. Well, at times. After all, the **boy** _did_ watch Soap Operas. He'd even hesitate to use the word 'man' and 'soap opera' in the same sentence.

Half an hour later, Nate and Jason left Shane, but not before laying down the ground rules. No partying too late, no drinking too much beer, listen to the doctors' orders; take better care of himself, and clean up his act. Of course, the last one was wishful thinking. Shane was who was. No one could ever change that. Not even Shane himself.

**An Hour from the Wisconsin Airport**

**2:58 am**

The young women clutched tightly around her daughters shaking form, walking aimlessly through the rain. Brown leaves whipped hard against her face, and her skinny legs grew heavy from exhaustion. She'd been walking on this road for at least an hour, and it only seemed to grow longer. She looked at her sleeping child, brokenly. Her little girl had done nothing to deserve this; she needed a home; somewhere . . . anywhere, she didn't care. Just a place where her little baby girl would have a roof over her head.

Looking up, she saw something big and white. She couldn't make it out though; it was much too blurry. Her skinny legs collapsed from under her, and her vision slowly faded until she saw nothing.

_**Black, black, black. **_

-

**Cool beans, it's done (:**

**Haha. I know this chapter was boring and uneventful. I just wanted to introduce my characters, and get a gist of how they are. Many people are OCC in this, but remember...it's AU :D :D :D hehehehehe. I adore NATE! He's my favorite character to write so far. Also, the reason I wrote, 'BLACK, BLACK, BLACK' for the last line was because in the beginning of the chapter, Shane only saw: 'WHITE, WHITE, WHITE' so, I though it was pretty NEAT O! &&fitting :P**

**If you have any questions about the chapter, just ask. Most of them should be answered in the following chapters.**

**Hopefully you all enjoyed it, and are looking forward to the next chappie ;)**

**Veni Vidi Vici**

**Oh, and there will be some Shiley interaction soon, I promise. –coughs- wayyyy sooner than you think x)**


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